Over 23,000 people killed by Mumbai suburban trains in 11 years
25 May, 2013An application was filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act seeking to get detailed information about the number of fatalities caused by train accidents on suburban Mumbai local routes.
The reply, provided by the Central Railways, states that in the past eleven years up to 2012, a total of 23,473 people have died due to train accidents on local routes of suburban Mumbai i.e. various routes between Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and Karjat, Kasara, Panvel, etc.
The reply shows that maximum deaths (14,554) occurred when people were trying to cross the railway tracks. 4,561 people died after they fell from speeding trains, 253 people died due to collision with poles on the railway tracks and 90 persons died after they fell in the gap between the platform and the tracks.
The reply also shows that during the same period, almost 12,000 persons got injured in train accidents on suburban routes. The reply also said that between 2009 and 2012, nearly 2,500 people died between Churchgate and Virar (suburban route of Western Railways).
Such a huge loss of life calls for urgent measures to bring an end to the avoidable causes of death.